AS THE only school in the nation that routinely uses skin shocks to control self-destructive and violent behavior on the part of some of its autistic, retarded, and emotionally disabled students, the controversial Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton should recognize the need to maintain impeccable documentation of its practices and personnel. Carelessness of any sort plays directly into the hands of the center's critics. However, if center officials have made paperwork errors, as alleged, this should not be allowed to undermine its pivotal work.

Massachusetts state regulators are now investigating whether the 250-student school exaggerated the credentials of more than a dozen employees who were designated as psychologists despite lacking the necessary licenses. The probe follows the recent release of a report by New York education officials who characterized the school as too quick to use shock devices for relatively minor lapses in behavior, such as swearing. In May, the Massachusetts state Senate approved a measure that would ban the use of skin shocks.

The Rotenberg center makes an easy target for critics, many of whom believe that traditional treatments, including the use of psychotropic drugs and behavior modification based on positive reinforcement, are sufficient to treat all patients. Yet the Rotenberg center routinely accepts referrals from traditional programs that couldn't handle their most difficult patients. These include young people who gouge at their eyes, cut themselves, bang their heads violently, and attack others indiscriminately. For every parent who complains about the skin shocks, it seems there are scores willing to testify that aversive therapy restored functionality to their children and families. Any blanket attempt by the Legislature to ban the treatment, such as the one proposed by state Senator Brian Joyce of Milton, would be a deep disservice.

No child receives the two-second skin shocks, akin to a bee sting, without the permission of both parents and a probate court judge who has vetted the case with medical experts. But the New York Board of Regents has taken a sensible extra step by requiring a panel of experts to sign off on such treatment for the roughly 160 New York students attending the school. It also wisely restricts the use of shock to treat assaultive and self-destructive actions, while banning its use for reasons such as noncompliance with rules.